Two Sides of Nation
According to the Institute for International Trade, South Korea ranked first in the ICT Development Index in 2015, first in terms of Internet speed in 2015 and third in the e-government index in 2016.
Likewise, the country ranked first in 2014 in terms of the ratio of R&D investment to GDP, fifth in 2014 in terms of corporate R&D personnel and fourth in 2014 in terms of patent registration by locals. In addition, it took the 14th place in 2014 in R&D investment per capita (US$1,200), sixth in 2015 in trade volume (US$963 billion) and fourth in 2015 in trade balance (US$90 billion).
On the contrary, South Korea ranked low in indices related to living standards and job quality. For example, the nation’s living standards index stood at 4.95 on a scale of 1 to 10, ranking 47th. In this index topped by Switzerland, the United States, Japan and China ranked 18th, 20th and 45th, respectively. South Koreans’ labor hours per year amounted to 2,113 to rank third in 2015, when the country’s unemployment rate reached 3.6% (14th) and its economic growth rate reached 2.6% (104th).
It also ranked 16th in national image and 29th in international competitiveness in 2016. It came in 43rd when it comes to national transparency.